These drawings are from the Steve Huston Workshop held @ L.A. Academy of Figurative Art. The focus of these drawings was storytelling and composition.
Steve is huge influence on my work and philosophy. Getting a chance to draw with a world class Artist looking over your shoulder is always a tremendous learning experience.
“5 minute sketches”, ballpoint pen on toned paper
“5 minute sketches”, ballpoint pen on toned paper
“5 minute sketches”, charcoal pencil on newsprint
The purpose of this challenge was to copy Animated movie stills for 30 consecutive days. This challenge was completed during the same time period as the 30 day plein-air challenge. Needless to say, this was a month of tremendous growth.
The intent behind this exercise was to study the color, design and composition from two of my favorite Animated movies, Kung Fu Panda
and Puss in Boots
. Of course I’m a little biased to Puss in Boots because of Nathan Fowkes, who was the lead color stylist for the film, and was also my painting teacher. In fact, I have to credit Nathan for inspiring me to do this challenge. He always credits his color skills to hours of consistent master studies.
I’ve also described my thought processes, color choices, material choices and general tips below for those who may want to take this challenge themselves. Scroll down to read more about the insights and lessons learned during this month of intensive color studies.
Read more…
One of the best ways I’ve found to develop my skills is to copy a master Artist. J.C. Leyendecker
is the king of hands in my humble opinion. He also has really sexy edgework. Not a bad illustrator to emulate.
If you like his work or would like to know more about him. I recommend this great book available on Amazon at a good price. Full of gorgeous pictures and personal bio.
Tifa Lockhart is a character fromt the Final Fantasy VII (FFVII) videogame. This illustration started as an assignment from my Character Design class last semester. This is the 3rd “final” iteration. It took several weeks, several attempts and hours of study and research to get a design that I was somewhat satisfied with. Sketches and groundwork included below as well.
“Tifa (from FFVII) Redesign”
Studies for Tifa’s costume, attitude and tools. Pen, markeer and white pencil on toned paper.
Costume studies for the “final” costume design. Pen, markeer and white pencil on toned paper.
At the end of July, I started a design for a dubstep inspired mech or robot. The idea began as a giant robot that can only be piloted by Dubstep DJs. Today I saw this interesting Deadmau5 video (see below) featuring giant robots piloted by Djs. Pretty cool huh.
This sketch is a WIP. Still needs a lot of work and finish. Character sketch and mechanical studies and sketches also included below.
“Skrillex Mech” sketch. Still a WIP. Pencil sketch rendered in Photoshop.
Quick character design of Skrillex the Dubstep producer. Pen and marker on toned paper.
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More tonal composition studies of old master works. This set is from the month of February. Can you recognize any of the pieces?
“Tonal Composition Studies, Feb. 2012″, pen, marker and white pencil on toned paper.
The assignment from my Character Design teachers was to create a new race for the game W.O.W. (World of Warcraft). I’ve personally never thought twice about the WOW universe, but it such a fun assignment. Stylized, over-the-top game designs are much less rigid and demanding than more naturalistic art styles. Which one would you want to play?
“WoW Concept Sketches”, pencil on paper.
One of the ways I like to stay motivated to practice something for 30 consecutive days. I call it a ‘30-day challenge‘. This last challenge was 30 consecutive days of oil painting, for at least 1 – 2 hours per day. This challenge took a lot of discipline and preparation. Anyone that oil paints, knows how time consuming and tedious the set-up and clean up can be. Of course, it was well worth the effort and a tremendous growth experience. What will your 30-day challenge be?
“30 Days of Oil Painting, 6/20/12 – 7/20/12″, oil on canvas.
